Assessing Economic Performance among North American Manufacturing Establishments, 1870/71: Data, Methodology and Measurement Issues

A number of conceptually robust and empirically practical approaches are available to assess relative economic performance among producers who operate on either side of an international border. In this paper we discuss the impact that data compilation, methodological choice, and variable definitions may have on the quantitative and qualitative assessment of cross-border performance comparisons. As an illustrative example we use manuscript census data from 1870/71 to compare total factor productivity (TFP) among a sample of manufacturing establishments located along the Canada-US border. We briefly discuss issues associated with the preparation of manuscript census data for the measurement of cross-border TFP differentials and the establishment of industry selection criteria. We also review TFP measurement techniques, such as growth accounting calculations, cost and production function index number approaches, and econometric estimation. However, the central focus of the paper is an investigation of the impact that variable definitions have on our assessment of TFP performance. In particular, we probe the relationship between the size of cross-border TFP differentials and the reliance on a variety of common definitions for labour, capital, output, input weights, and prices.Productivity Measurement, International Performance Comparisons, North American Industrialization

Longitudinal Studies of Human Growth and Health: A Review of Recent Historical Research

This paper reviews recent literature using stature and weight as measures of human welfare with a particular interest in cliometric or historical research. We begin with an overview of anthropometric evidence of living standards and the new but fast-growing field of anthropometric history. This literature is always implicitly and often explicitly longitudinal in nature. We then discuss (i) systematic empirical research into the relationship between conditions in early life and later life health and mortality and (ii) historical evidence on the relationship between body mass, morbidity and mortality. We conclude with a discussion of the importance of historical sources and understandings to health economics and population health.Anthropometric history; Biological standard of living; Height; Obesity; Physical stature; Well-being

The Representation of Industry in the Canadian Census, 1871-1891

The author investigates the representation of industrial activity and the industrial establishment in the Canadian censuses from 1871 to 1891. Published and unpublished materials reveal that an explicit definition of industrial activity successfully guided the enumeration and tabulation of the census data, although difficulties were encountered with domestic production and multi-purpose establishments. The information recorded by enumerators reveals the presence of a large number of firms operating more than one industrial process in the same or closely adjacent buildings, particularly where water power was available. A reexamination of the census manuscript evidence indicates that industrial establishments were more numerous and their total output in 1871 larger than has been recognized previously.L'auteur étudie la représentation de l'activité industrielle et des établissements industriels dans les recensements canadiens de 1871 à 1891. Des documents publiés et non publiés révèlent qu'une définition explicite de l'activité industrielle a permis au dénombrement et à la mise en ordre des données du recensement de bien se faire, malgré les difficultés éprouvées en matière de production intérieure et d'établissements à vocations multiples. L'information recueillie par les recenseurs montre la présence d'un grand nombre d'entreprises ayant recours à plus d'un procédé industriel au même endroit ou à l'intérieur d'immeubles adjacents, surtout où il y avait de l'énergie hydraulique. Un nouvel examen des données du recensement révèle que les établissements étaient plus nombreux et que leur production totale était plus grande en 1871 qu'on ne l'avait constaté auparavant

Labour market dynamics in Canada, 1891-1911: a first look from new census samples

This paper uses newly available census evidence to portray changes in labour market outcomes in Canada between 1891 and 1911. Multiple census cross-sections allow for the documentation of how the location, occupation, and earnings of Canadian and foreign-born cohorts changed over time. The westward movement of young anglophones after 1901 contributed to the formation of a national labour market. Anglophone, francophone, and foreign-born cohorts all experienced significant occupational mobility between 1891 and 1911, but francophones and immigrants remained over-represented at the bottom of the occupational ladder. Greater occupational and geographical mobility supported higher rates of earnings growth among Anglophones

The Influence of Resource Quality on Technological Persistence: Charcoal Iron in Quebec

Technological advances in the steel industry during the nineteenth century led to the dis-placement of charcoal, a vegetable fuel, by coke, a mineral fuel. Aspects of the technology developed to utilize coke, however, were also applicable to charcoal blast furnaces. The province of Quebec was the centre of the Canadian iron-making industry during the nineteenth century, but the technological advances introduced into processes for smelting iron with charcoal were not accepted in that province as they were elsewhere. The author looks to characteristics of the ore used in Quebec and the type of charcoal available locally to explain the persistence of old charcoal technology in Quebec iron smelters. The retention of old technology by Quebec iron-makers was a sensible response to local conditions. Moreover the small Canadian domestic market provided little incentive to adopt large-scale technologies during most of the nineteenth century. The Quebec experience with charcoal iron manufacture illustrates the subtle blend of factors that are involved in the assessment of technological change by potential beneficiaries. Résumé Les progrès techniques survenus dans l'indus-trie de l'acier au cours du XIXe siècle ont mené au remplacement du charbon de bois, com-bustible végétal, par le coke, combustible minéral. Les aspects de la technologie mise au point pour utiliser le coke, cependant, étaient aussi applicables aux fourneaux à charbon de bois. Le Québec était le centre de l'industrie canadienne de la sidérurgie au XIXe siècle mais les progrès techniques introduits dans le processus de fonte du fer par le charbon de bois n'y étaient pas acceptés comme ils l'étaient ailleurs. L'auteur voit dans les caractéristiques du minerai utilisé au Québec et dans le type de charbon de bois disponible localement l'explication de la persistance de la vieille technique au charbon de bois dans les fonderies du Québec. Cette conservation de la vieille technique constituait une réponse raisonnable des maîtres des forges aux conditions locales. En outre, au Canada, pendant la plus grande partie du XIXe siècle, l'étroitesse du marché national n 'incitait guère à adopter des technologies à grande échelle. L'expérience québécoise touchant l'utilisation du charbon de bois pour produire de la fonte illustre la subtile combinaison de facteurs qui intervient dans l'évaluation des changements techniques par leurs éventuels bénéficiaires

Physical stature and its interpretation in nineteenth century New Zealand

During the late nineteenth century the physical stature of New Zealandborn men stagnated, despite an apparently beneficial public health environment and growth in per-capita incomes. Stature varied by social class, with professionals and men in rural occupations substantially taller than their peers. There is not enough evidence to show that the indigenous Maori population differed in height from men of European descent.Physical stature; Height; Well-being; New Zealand Anthropometric history; Biological standard of living